1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of knives and more particularly to knives intended for use in practicing the culinary arts.
2. Prior Art
The present invention is primarily intended for use in thin slicing of objects, and more particularly for such purposes as slicing baked items for producing layers in pastry or layered cakes. Accordingly, since the primary purpose of the present invention is in slicing or layering of baked goods, the prior art relating thereto shall be described herein, it being recognized that the present invention may also be used for slicing fruit and the like in an accurate and controllable manner.
There are a number of methods which have been used for producing layers in pastry or cakes. One common method is to bake the individual layers separately for later assembly into the desired layered cake. Another method is to hand slice the cake, either by free-hand (without guides) or by first inserting toothpicks around the circumference of the cake at a measured height and cutting the cake using the toothpicks as guides. String and thread have also been used, using toothpicks as guides, to form a loop large enough to encircle the cake so that the pulling of the string or thread ends tightens and constricts the loop so as to slice the cake therebetween. Finally, cake cutters are also known which drag a metal ribbon, thread or wire through a cake at specific heights.
Each of the foregoing methods of slicing layers has its own disadvantages. By way of example, baking separate layers and then assemblying the layers into cakes is inefficient, requiring several baking entities, more oven capacity, more baking pans, more cleanup, etc. Also the number of layers which may be individually baked is limited by the minimum thickness that can be baked properly, normally limiting a cake to two or three layers. While separately baked layers might be further divided, normally they cannot be divided or sliced into layers having a thickness of less than approximately one inch. Also, dividing separately baked layers further, or layering a cake by use of toothpick guides and string or thread, is difficult for the unskilled baker, and is time consuming even for the professional. Similarly, knife cutting with or without the use of toothpick guides is difficult even for the professional baker, if uniform and flat layers are to be produced. Typically, in all of these cases, the thickness of the layers is generally limited to something in excess of one inch.
Some of the problems of guides and uniformity of results are significantly alleviated by the cake cutters that drag a metal ribbon, thread or wire through a cake. However, these cuttes suffer in that they typically cannot cut in smaller increments than one inch, and typically are limited to specific increments so that they are not universally or infinitely adjustable. Further, such cake cutters, along with the hereinbefore techniques of string and thread loop cutting, cannot properly cut cakes that have baked-in ingredients such as nuts or other hard substances.
One prior art cake layer cutter is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,964,844. This cutter uses a wire stretched over a frame, with a plurality of grooves allowing discrete thickness adjustment for the layers to be cut thereby. Accordingly, this type of cutter is similar to that hereinbefore described in that the layer thicknesses achievable are predetermined, and since a wire is used as the cutting or separating element, baked in ingredients such as nuts and the like will not be satisfactorily cut by such a cutter. Also, an example of a metal ribbon slicer is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,238,186. The particular slicer shown being intended for use in slicing cheese or butter and in general having a single predetermined sliced thickness. Still another means for slicing layers of baked goods is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,469. This device utilizes a nylon thread or similar material maintained under tension by a pair of coil springs coupled to each end thereon. The slicing means is intended for slicing a cake into layers as the cake rests in the baking pan, the device having a gauging means for selecting the layer thickness for each cut using the top of the baking pan as a reference. The coil springs maintain the thread in tension, with the mechanism supporting each end of the thread being independent so that the cutting regions of the thread is extensible from substantially zero length to the full diameter of the pan. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,255 discloses a lead bend saw intended for slicing lead bends at the required distance from the floor. The blade used is in the form of a saw which is fastened to a frame having wheels or bearings thereunder for rolling on the floor. One embodiment utilizes adjustable height rollers so that the elevation of the saw-blade may be adjusted if desired. The device is intended for the specific purpose of cutting lead closet bends, and is specifically adapted for that purpose.